1 day Ago By Dené K. Dryden
OWATONNA, Minn. — The Minnesota Nurses Association is asking Allina Health and Mayo Clinic to reconsider a decision to lay off nurses at Owatonna Hospital, per a Wednesday, Sept. 18, press release from the nursing union.
The statement from the MNA chairs at Owatonna Hospital, registered nurses Michelle Sorensen and Angela Ruhter, states that Allina Health recently announced layoffs impacting nurses in the ambulatory surgery and operating room units, and "we are particularly concerned by the role the Mayo Clinic is playing in this decision and the impact it will have on the Owatonna community." "Once again, corporate health care executives at Mayo who have no connection to the community are making decisions that negatively affect nurses and patients," Sorensen and Ruhter said. ADVERTISEMENT While Owatonna Hospital is owned and operated by Allina Health, Mayo Clinic Health System owns and operates a clinic right next to the hospital, and MCHS employs most of the Owatonna Hospital's surgical providers through a contract between the two health systems.
Sorensen and Ruhter allege that Mayo Clinic has stopped supplying these surgeons, and as a result, created a "dramatic decrease in work for our nurses." "In addition, Mayo has stopped referring patients to Allina and refer them instead to the Mayo Rochester campus," the MNA chairs said. Allina Health confirmed that there are still Mayo Clinic Health System-Owatonna surgical providers who work at Owatonna Hospital, but "there are fewer" now.
Dr. Jason Wray-Raabolle, the site lead physician for Mayo Clinic Health System in Faribault and Owatonna, said one of the MCHS Owatonna-based general surgeons recently resigned, "and we are actively working to fill this position." "There have been no other changes to our staffing from a personnel perspective," Wray-Raabolle said.
However, beginning Nov. 2, Allina Health said Owatonna Hospital's elective surgery schedule will be reduced from five days per week to four. ADVERTISEMENT "This change is driven by a substantial decrease in surgical volumes following the departure of Mayo Clinic Health System-Owatonna physicians," the health system said.
"At the same time, we’re also reducing hours for our registered nurse care coordinator staff in the medical-surgical unit to better align with schedules at our other Allina Health regional hospitals." Allina Health said the change will impact five or fewer full-time equivalents and includes non-nursing roles. "We are working with impacted employees to help them understand how this change will affect their schedules and, as appropriate, offer them support with finding other job opportunities within Allina Health," Allina Health said.
"We are in contact with the unions to work through the contractual process, so at this time we don’t know the number of positions that will be affected." SEIU Healthcare Minnesota & Iowa also represents employees at Owatonna Hospital. The Post Bulletin has reached out to SEIU for more information on if their members are affected.
Wray-Raabolle said Owatonna's hospital nurses are employed by Allina, so MCHS is "not involved in these types of personnel decisions." "Our clinic staff carefully evaluates each patient’s case, taking into account their individual needs and preferences, to determine the most appropriate course of action," Wray-Raabolle said. "In some instances, referrals to Mayo Clinic in Rochester may be necessary to provide specialized care or access to resources that aren’t available locally.
We strive to collaborate with Allina Health in Owatonna to keep patients close to home whenever possible." The MNA chairs called for Mayo Clinic and Allina to work with the union to "come up with a solution that does not require laying off nurses and downgrading the care available at our hospital." ADVERTISEMENT Neither Allina Health nor Mayo Clinic provided the number of previous or current MCHS surgical providers at Owatonna Hospital.
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